Mets Morning News: deGrom opens the Subway Series in Queens

Meet the Mets

The Mets and Yankees open the Subway Series tonight at Citi Field with Jacob deGrom on the mound. Yoenis Cespedes is not expected to play in the series. Whether he will play in any rehab games before returning remains uncertain.

Peter Botte remembers some notable moments from Subway Series history, as the Mets and Yankees cross paths this season with their respective seasons going in very different directions.

But perhaps the excitement of the Subway Series will provide the spark the Mets desperately need to turn their season around.

Dan Martin takes a look at how the Mets and Yankees match up and gives the Mets the edge when it comes to the pitching match-ups and gives the Yankees the edge when it comes to, well, pretty much everything else.

Sandy Alderson’s contract extension, which he signed in late 2017, reportedly runs through 2019. There is no threat to Alderson’s job security at this time, as the organization is satisfied with their GM.

MLB.com named Brandon Nimmo as one of five potential dark horses for a spot on the All-Star Team from the NL East.

Brian Duricy takes a deep dive into Jose Bautista’s season in an attempt to elucidate whether his increased production with the Mets compared to his Braves tenure is sustainable. We have yet to see some aspects of the player he used to be, like his prowess at the plate against left handed pitching. But his characteristic plate discipline, absent on the Braves, seems to have returned for the Mets.

The Mets announced in spring training that they had signed lefty reliever Fernando Abad, but the signing was never made official. Yesterday, the reasoning behind that turn of events became obvious when Abad was suspended for 80 games for testing positive for Stanozolol. The suspension will be back-dated and he will be eligible to return to baseball sometime in late June.

Around the National League East

Federal Baseball debates the Nationals’ outfield situation once Adam Eaton returns from the disabled list.

Trevor Richards, fresh back from the minor leagues for the Marlins, was solid in his return to the big leagues, but the Marlins lost to the Cardinals 4-1.

The Phillies fell to the Cubs 4-3 and struggled to hit with runners in scoring position, stranding thirteen baserunners.

Ronald Acuna Jr., who suffered a mild ACL sprain, is slated to start baseball activities soon. There is a chance he could return for next week’s series against the Mets.

Around Major League Baseball

The 2018-2019 free agent class was set up to be one for the ages. However, while Harper and Machado remain the coveted players in that class, only a select few teams will be able to afford their price tags, while the rest of the class is looking less exciting than it did a couple of years ago.

Buster Olney has proposed a limit for the number of pitchers teams should be allowed to use per nine innings.

Meanwhile, Brett Lindbergh adds his voice to the chorus of those that want the DH in the National League.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

Robert Wolff brought us the daily prospect report, in which the Binghamton Rumble Ponies continue to be the most successful minor league team.

Richard Staff and I wrote a piece about the Mets’ checkered history in dealing with their players.

Steve Sypa provided profiles on the Mets’ fifteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth selections in the 2018 draft.

This Date in Mets History

Thanks to their 109-loss season in 1964, the Mets were awarded the second overall pick in Major League Baseball’s first draft. Their selection? High school pitcher Les Rohr, who they envisioned as a future 20-game winner. That would not come to pass, as Rohr strained a tendon in his elbow in his first appearance of the 1968 season, which ended his career. But the Mets did draft another pitcher in the tenth round: some guy named Nolan Ryan.